Happily Ever After
by NewDrWhoFan
Summary: A sequel to "Once Upon a Time" - an AU of S3's "Human Nature" with Rose rather than Martha, by Luna Lovegood5 - very much 10Rose
1. One Month

_A sequel to "Once Upon a Time", an AU "Human Nature" with Rose rather than Martha, by Luna Lovegood5_

_Please read that story first!_

_(The backstory I created for this ended up heavily influencing my own series of stories, but they are completely unrelated. Meaning, this story will not fit in to my series, it is simply a sequel to Luna's story.)_

_Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise, I don't own Doctor Who. Nor do I get anything from writing these stories-except wonderful, constructive reviews! Wink, wink; nudge, nudge ;)_

* * *

Ever since the Doctor had supe'd up Rose's phone, and Jackie had learned the truth about their travels, Rose had kept a calendar in her room on the TARDIS. After all, her mum was prone to fits if Rose let several weeks slide by without a phone call. And even though Jackie was now cut off from phone calls, living in Pete's world, Rose kept up the practice of marking off the days on her calendar.

So it was that Rose lay on her bed, looking at said calendar, after a rather interesting stint marooned in 1969. It had only lasted a few weeks, but following hard upon several months as a maid, working in a shop again had left her yearning for the TARDIS' return. Granted, it was fantastic just having the Doctor back, rather than "John Smith," even if he did go by the pseudonym while working to fulfill the clues left to them by one Sally Sparrow. It was even a bit enlightening to see him relegated to the domestics of their shared apartment. However, it frequently hit a little too close to home whenever the Doctor would help with the groceries, or other little things that reminded Rose of their previous adventure.

They hadn't spoken of anything that had happened while hiding from the Family, except for the Doctor's sincerest gratitude for all Rose had done for him. The way he had phrased it, she couldn't tell if he actually had John Smith's memories, or if it was just a general acknowledgement of what she must have gone through while he was out of his mind. So, Rose found herself stashing away all of the memories that it would not do to confuse with the Doctor. Every little chivalrous gesture; every notation and drawing of her in his journal; every nervous, surprising kiss; and especially the night before the Family had arrived, when John had gone so far as to propose marriage. "Ask me again in a month," she'd told him, because by then he'd be the Doctor again, and would be the last person in the universe to suggest something so human, so binding as marriage.

Rose flipped back a page on her calendar to look at the date. 12 May 2007. The date was innocently enough circled in pencil. No bright colors, or hearts, or heavy outlining, not even a few words scribbled within the square; nothing to make it seem particularly interesting. Turning to the month of June, Rose looked at today's date: 12 June 2007. She'd done the tally in her head about ten times, and was fairly certain that it was correct according to her subjective timeline. She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling and listening to the gentle hum of the TARDIS. "Today's the day, old girl," she said aloud to the ship. No, she certainly wasn't expecting a proposal, or even any sort of mention of it from the Doctor. But after today, she could stop thinking and dreaming about the "what if's". Consciously, she told herself she didn't want any changes in their relationship. But her subconscious sometimes had a mind of its own, and images of her being carried over the threshold of the TARDIS weren't very helpful.

With a sigh, Rose rolled out of bed and put on her best "ready to tackle the universe" outfit and face, and headed out of her room to find out what the Doctor had in store for them today.

* * *

Little did Rose know that ever since she'd gone to bed the previous evening, the Doctor had been a flurry of nervous activity. He'd narrowed down the list of planets he wanted to take her to, so now he only had only about twelve thousand two hundred fifty destinations to choose from. These actually consisted of only about three hundred worlds, but then there were the different time periods and surface locations to consider.

Of course, the Doctor knew what day it was. He had every single memory from his time as John Smith, and wished he could go back and slap himself for every time he'd opened his gob and nearly spoiled everything with Rose. He couldn't believe the twit had actually proposed. And with the Doctor's ring! He should never have left it in his pocket when he went under the Chameleon Arch.

The Doctor had been carrying the ring since just before they'd visited the 2012 Olympics. He'd taken Rose to a world with graceful rock arches, flying stingrays, and a sunset that almost made him think he was on Gallifrey. He'd meant to be leading up to a proposal when he'd asked her how long she was going to stay with him. But her casual "forever" had left him speechless, and for some reason that he still couldn't grasp he'd chickened out and kept his mouth shut. He didn't try again after Jackie ended up trapped in Pete's world, lest she suspect he just felt sorry for her (and trying to send Rose away hadn't helped his cause any), but he found himself burning up a sun just so that Rose could say goodbye to her family. Since then, although he had the whole of time and space at his disposal, his every attempt seemed to go awry. He'd even tried taking her back to New Earth—what a fiasco. In the end, the Face of Boe had given him a perfect opening, but he stubbornly waited to try and set up the perfect proposal on his own terms. Then, between the Daleks and everything else, he just couldn't find the right moment. And suddenly the Family were upon them.

Rose's reaction to John's proposal was etched in his brain, along with every kiss she'd politely returned as they'd grown closer. If he'd had cold feet earlier from any doubts as to her intentions, he had no hesitation now. It was heartbreaking for him to remember her face, her thoughts so clear to him now, "If only you were the Doctor saying these things." The only reason he was holding back was Rose's "one month" request. As much as it was killing him to wait now that he was ready, he didn't want her to think he was proposing out of duty or guilt from his actions as John. It might be a bit cruel to let her think he had no memory of their time together, but he'd make it up to her.

* * *

_To be continued. . . ._


	2. Forever

_Thank you so much to everyone who's read, reviewed, or added me to their alerts or favorites; a special thanks to Luna Lovegood5 without whose story this one would never have happened. And now, the conclusion:_

* * *

The Doctor had just finished entering the coordinates for his final choice of destination when Rose walked into the console room. Hoping he didn't look too guilty, the Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled. "Morning, Rose!"

"Mornin', Doctor," she replied. "So, what's the plan for today?"

"Since when do we need a plan?" asked the Doctor, hoping she didn't have some way of knowing that he really had planned out their day.

"Right, dunno what I was thinkin'," said Rose with a grin, walking over to the captain's chair.

"Although," said the Doctor, as if it had just occurred to him, "we could give you some more TARDIS driving practice."

"Really?"

"Sure! You're long overdue for another lesson. Come 'ere," he said, stepping back slightly and gesturing for her to stand in front of him.

Rose jumped up from her seat, and ran to the console. She rested her hands lightly on it, ready for the Doctor's instructions.

The Doctor stepped up behind her, perhaps closer than was strictly necessary. He did, after all, have to operate a few of the levers and whatnot himself, and it wouldn't do for them to be out of reach, right? He began giving directions, and Rose executed flawlessly. The time rotor was whirring away, and the TARDIS was lurching this way and that, but she kept up with everything the Doctor told her. Finally, with his right hand on her shoulder, he reached around her left to point at the final switch. "And now," he said in her ear, "that one." He didn't miss her faint shiver before Rose shook herself and completed the sequence.

As the TARDIS abruptly came to a halt, the Doctor caught Rose around the waist. As soon as he was absolutely, positively sure she was steady, he stepped back and put his hands in his pockets. She turned to look at him, a smile on her face, awaiting his assessment. The Doctor held out his arm for her, and said, "Well done, my beautiful Rose, a new world awaits."

Although apparently startled by his words, she took his arm and walked with him towards the front doors. "So," she asked, "where and when are we?"

"The year," he said, "is thirty-two thousand eight hundred sixty-eight, as you'd reckon it. And as for the 'where,'" he paused as they reached the doors, opening them for Rose to go out ahead of him.

* * *

Rose gasped as she surveyed the view that greeted them. They were on the flying stingray planet-she couldn't remember it's name-but this time they were on a high cliff overlooking an ocean, a green ocean. There were only a few whitecaps on the water, stirred up by the warm breeze, but the slightly pink sky was filled with the magnificent, graceful creatures.

"I think you recognize our location," said the Doctor from behind her, still partway inside the TARDIS.

Rose glanced back at him with a smile, then started walking forward, along the clifftop. "Yeah, but it's so different." She looked around from the ocean, back to the grassy hills that ended in a long cliff-lined shore. A white sun was high in the sky, and it seemed that the stingrays were flying a continuous circuit from inland, out over the water, and back again. She grinned at the Doctor as he took her hand to walk beside her. Her thoughts drifted back to the last time they were here. "Forever," she'd told him, and she only wished she could convince him that she meant it. It wasn't long after their last visit here that he'd tried to send her to Pete's world with her mum. But she'd come right back to him, again, shouldn't that count for something?

"Rose." The Doctor tugged slightly on Rose's hand, and she stopped to look at him. To her complete shock, he dropped down on his right knee. She felt her heartrate at least triple, and heard the blood pounding in her ears. He couldn't-he wasn't-he didn't remember, did he? But no sooner had these thoughts raced through her mind, than her hopes were dashed. He let go of her hand with an apologetic grin, and casually bent over to tie the laces of his left shoe.

She turned quickly away, and huffed out an uneasy breath. "Right, what was I thinkin'," she thought. "Get a hold of yourself, girl." She took a few steps nearer the edge of the cliff, and stood looking out over the water. Rose told herself she didn't need a wedding ring or a piece of paper to prove that she loved the Doctor. But at moments like this, she couldn't deny that deep down she wanted it.

She felt him before she heard any sign of his approach. The Doctor's hands rested on her shoulders, and she felt herself leaning back into him. He let go, and then wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her even closer. Rose rested her hands over his, and closed her eyes, enjoying both the feel of the gentle wind and of the Doctor surrounding her.

"Rose Tyler, I love you."

She could have sworn her heart literally missed a beat as she heard the words spoken softly in her ear. She turned her head toward the Doctor's as she felt his chin rest on her left shoulder. Did he mean what she thought he meant? She tried to say something, she didn't know what, but her mouth was opening and closing rather uselessly. She stopped when he spoke again.

"With both my hearts," he said, "completely. Forever."

Yeah, no mistaking him then. She turned around, sliding her arms around his neck. She licked her lips nervously-and noticed the Doctor shift his glance for a fraction of a second-then said, "I love you," then added with a grin, "my Doctor."

His smile was all she could have wished for. She watched his eyes dart again to her lips, and let herself be pulled to him. Her own eyes fluttered shut as she felt the feather light touch of his lips on hers. She let her hands move up his neck and through his hair, as his wandered up her back, pulling her impossibly closer. Her mind briefly recalled the few, shy kisses she'd been given by John Smith, but came quickly back to the present when she felt the Doctor tracing her lips with his tongue. "Oh, yes, worth the wait," she thought.

It was several glorious minutes before they pulled apart, resting their foreheads together as Rose caught her breath. "Rose," said the Doctor, maneuvering one of his arms free and reaching into his breast pocket. She was astonished to see him pull out the very ring with which John Smith had proposed to her one month ago. "It's been a month," he said with a smug grin.

"You remembered," was all Rose could say. But she was smiling at least as brightly as he.

The Doctor took her hand and dropped back down to a knee, holding the ring up to her between them. "I'll love you today, tomorrow, a month down the line, a hundred years from now, a hundred million years from now, past or future." Rose felt tears coming to her eyes, even as she laughed for joy. "Will you marry me?"

Rose knelt down with him, much as she had with John, but this time she reached out her free hand to cradle the side of the Doctor's face. "Yes," she said. "With all my one, little, solitary heart, yes!"

* * *

_Ta-da! The end :)_


End file.
